My favorite is Sony vegas movie studio, Steph. The most recent version is HD platinum 11, and it goes for around $50 or so on Amazon (I don't know what your price range is), which I think is a bargain considering I prefer it to premiere pro or final cut pro (I admit it's been years since I've used either one, though).
Here's a sample I made with version 9, though I have since upgraded to version 11 and it's better (for one thing, it supports 1080p 60fps video from my NEX-5N, which is absolutely gorgeous video).

Lovely video jonnyapple, (and lovely shots making it up!) I've never tried doing anything like that, but the idea of producing a "video" without shooting one appeals :-) How intuitive would you say Platinum 11 is, could a novice use it? Is it a stand alone program or do you use it in conjunction with other software? *****Just had a look on Amazon, what is the difference betweeen the "Production Suite" and non version?*****

I use Vegas Pro 11. The possibilities are infinite and only limited by your imagination and knowledge of the program.
I burn Blu-Ray and DVD. I also use Vimeo, You Tube, iPhone, and web streaming. Vegas is video editing software but easily makes slideshows to music. I also like to add video to the slideshow.

This is not a program that you'll sit down and figure out instantly. I'd suggest some training. It's NLE (non-linear editor) video editing software similar to Adobe Premier and Apple Final Cut Pro which I also own. I prefer Vegas and have quit using the other programs. If you've used another NLE, then you'll easily learn Vegas. One advantage to Vegas is it's ability to use all types of media without having to render it before it shows on the timeline.

Vegas is Windows only. I run it on a Mac Pro via BootCamp and Windows7 Pro 64 bit. You'll get better performance on 64 bit. The more Cores the better for video editing.

Yes, Lightroom's slideshow is really easy to use, too. It doesn't have the same control over transitions, etc. that you have in a dedicated video application, though.

Thanks, SkintBrit. It is a standalone program. [edit: saw ProImages said lots of this while I was uploading the video below, but I'll leave it anyway.] The production suite includes a tutorial DVD and some extra effects (transitions, etc.). Google movie studio compare to see a full list, including vegas pro, which my dad has and loves but is more than I need. There are tutorials in the program itself in both versions, but I've never used them. The intuitive (to me) interface is why I like this program more than others. It began life as a digital audio workspace, and it is timeline based. You drop a photo or video to the timeline, move it around until it overlaps with another, and then if you want to change the transition between objects from the default (fade), you drag the transition onto the space where the objects overlap.

Effects you add to objects can be keyed: a simple example is the fade from color to grayscale then back again in my video above. I added the 'Hue and Saturation' effect to one photo and had the saturation transition from 100% to 0% over time, then had a few photos that had been exported to grayscale to begin with. Panning is the same way—you drag the frame around to tell it what part of the photo should be visible at a few key frames and it transitions smoothly between those key frames.

Steph, you can have 10 simultaneous video tracks with version 11, but I'm not sure what you mean by two photos at once. It's definitely possible, but may not be easy. Here's a short clip showing what I think you're asking about, from a slideshow I did for my grandma's 80th birthday.

I only needed two tracks for that: one for each side of the screen. The trickiest thing I've ever tried with video is to have a background video layer, chroma-keyed (green screen) puppets to put them in that background layer, and a text layer on top of that, so I don't think I've ever used more than four video tracks, but it's nice to know I could use 10 if I needed them. The pro version has infinite simultaneous tracks, but you can see why I say it's more than I need.

Paying is no issue, the slideshow software also needs to be able to show more the 1 picture a time. I know there is great program for Mac but I'dont have a Mac :-(

Which "great [slideshow] program" for the Mac were you referring to? Sometimes all you need is a simple app which does something simple, well. I'm currently OS X, so I'm curious to know which one you liked.

As far as Sony Vegas, yes, it's a bit overkill for a slideshow, but it's one of the easiest-to-use NLEs out there. I own both Adobe Premiere Pro for Windows (which I never really liked that much), and Final Cut Pro Studio for OS X, but I still miss using Vegas since switching to all-OS X machines a few years ago. In fact, Vegas is still my favorite NLE of all, and is one of the main reasons I'm thinking of switching back to a Windows machine.

That's two votes for Sony Vegas, but you say it's overkill for slide shows studio460. What is it's primary function then? Jonnyapple has said that it can take a bit of getting used to, What do you think, would you recommend it to someone with no experience in that type of software? (As opposed to any other).